Q&A with Rachel Harmon

Associate Reporter for the Policing project Rachel A. Harmon of UVA School of Law talks to UVA Today about the role arrests play in law enforcement.

In the Q&A, Professor Harmon provides her insight on the topic of policing, and why she believes making fewer arrests would result in a better criminal justice system. She explains, “An arrest is a tool of criminal justice, not one of its goals. Although commentators sometimes debate whether a particular arrest was necessary or just, we don’t think a lot about arrests in general, and whether they really are essential to ensure public safety and order. We rely on constitutional law to take care of that question for us: If an arrest complies with the Fourth Amendment, we take it for granted that it is probably worth doing.”